July was the third month in a row where the market beat expectations with state RevPAR increasing by 10% over last year. All islands had big gains, with Maui up 15%, Hawaii Island up 15%, Kauai up 10%, and Oahu up 6%. Maui saw another month with strong occupancy gains while Kauai and Hawaii Island did it with rate.

Meanwhile, the lower end hotels had a strong showing again in July, keeping pace with their luxury and upper upscale brethren.

Oahu’s hotels are joining the other islands with some solid RevPAR growth.

Total arrivals were up 1% for the month, with the US up 1%, Canada up 3% (welcome back!) and Japan flat. Year to date, arrivals remain 2% ahead of last year, so the fundamentals on the surface are sound. But not so fast … how long are they staying?

We tend to focus on arrivals, but total visitor days are more important. In July, average length of stay was down 14% from last year which drove total visitor days down 13%. Over the last five years the average is around 8.6 days but this year it has dropped to 7.6 days. What doesn’t make sense is how occupancy can increase by 5% while total visitor days were down 13%. It makes me wonder if the calculation has changed or is flawed. Let me know if you have any ideas. Did we have a big jump in people who don’t like sharing a room?

The forward outlook tells the more useful story: capacity for the period ahead is up 2%, with domestic up 5%, but that increase is benefitting the neighbor islands while Oahu sputters. Kahului, Kona, and Lihue are all seeing strong outlook gains.

International, meanwhile, is heading the wrong direction across the board. Japan, Canada, Korea, and Oceania are all down sharply.

In addition to a handful of Waikiki hotels on the market, the leased fee interest under the Imperial Waikiki on Lewers Street was recently offered for sale. There are 27 years left on the ground lease of a very disjointed timeshare / condominium project.